French FM visits Algeria to mend ties after diplomatic row

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian ALGIERS, Dec 9 (NNN-Xinhua) — Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune met visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian here on Wednesday, where they discussed measures to improve strained bilateral relations as well as other issues of mutual concern, Algeria’s state-run television channel ENTV reported. In…

Covid-19: Zimbabwe temporarily shuts down courts due to cases among staff as Botswana reports 25 Omicron cases

HARARE, Dec 9 (NNN-Xinhua) — Courts across Zimbabwe have been ordered to close due to COVID-19 cases among staff members. In a statement, the Judicial Service Commission said the shutdown on Wednesday and Thursday of its head office in the capital Harare and courts across the country would allow for…

5 missing Peruvian military helicopter crew members found dead

LIMA, Dec 9 (NNN-Xinhua) — Five Peruvian Air Force helicopter crew members who had been missing since Tuesday were found dead Wednesday in Lima region, the Peruvian Air Force confirmed. Armed forces patrols were able to locate the aircraft, which had taken off at noon on Tuesday from the Jorge…

3 killed in suicide attack in western Kenya

NAIROBI, Dec 9 (NNN-Xinhua) — Three people including a suicide bomber were killed in a blast in Kisumu County in Western Kenya, the police confirmed on Wednesday. Kisumu County police commander Karanja Muiruri said the victims, a man and his wife, died during the blast on Tuesday evening in the…

7 UN peacekeepers killed, 3 injured in Mali explosion

Soldiers of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), looking out over the desert from a watchtower BAMAKO, Dec 9 (NNN-Xinhua) — Seven Peacekeepers of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) were killed and three others were seriously injured following an explosion in…

US: Mexican kidnap for ransom ring operating in California indicted; 6 of victims killed

LOS ANGELES, Dec 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mexican members of a violent kidnap-for-ransom ring based in Tijuana, were indicted by a federal grand jury in the US, after they were accused of abducting nine people and killing six of them, including three US citizens.All six defendants face one count each of…

Two dead, 12 injured as truck ploughs into Lagos students

The driver is in police custody LAGOS, Dec 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two students were killed and 12 injured when a truck rammed into them near their school in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, police said.The incident, which occurred on Tuesday in Ojodu area, sparked outrage as angry residents attacked the police…

Covid-19: South Africa reports nearly 20,000 cases, an Omicron-wave record

PRETORIA, Dec 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Africa reported nearly 20,000 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a record since the Omicron variant was detected, and 36 new COVID-related deaths. It was not immediately clear how many of the infections were caused by Omicron, given only a fraction of samples are sequenced,…

Iraqi migrant girl, 4, goes missing along Polish-Belarus border

Migrants in Belarus gather near a barbed wire fence in an attempt to cross the border into Poland WARSAW, Dec 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A four-year-old Iraqi migrant girl went missing in an icy forest after being separated from her parents in a scuffle with Polish border guards, humanitarian groups said…

No UK ministers attending Beijing Winter Olympics, ‘effectively’ a diplomatic boycott, says PM Johnson

LONDON, Dec 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — There will effectively be a British diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in China because no ministers or officials are due to attend, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament. The White House announced on Monday that US government officials will boycott the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing…